High School of the Week- Bluefield HS (West Virginia)

Initially, we were going to choose Big Creek High School in War, W.Va., which is where former NASA researcher Homer Hickam (whose memoir 'Rocket Boys' was turned into the film 'October Sky') went to school. But, we found out that the school whose nickname was The Owls closed earlier this year!

So, as a result, our High School of the Week is Bluefield High School in the bordertown of Bluefield, W.Va., which happens to be where the famous mathematician John Nash (subject of the film "A Beautiful Mind") went to school. Bluefield is about an hour away from War in the southern part of West Virginia.

BHS was founded in 1953. The school nickname is The Beavers (note: the image about is not the school's logo). There are about 650 students attending school at BHS, where the principal is Joe Turner.

BHS won the state high school football championship last year. This past weekend, they defeated rival school Princeton HS 17-0.

The school newspaper is "The Beaver Voice," and it is published online.

SIDEBAR: Our kudos go out to Floyd County High School in Floyd, Va., as The Buffaloes beat Rural Retreat High School 48-20 in football on Friday night. The Buffs' are division rivals with my alma mater Glenvar High School (Salem, Va.) which came from behind in a home win over James River High School from Buchanan.

SIDEBAR TWO: It appears that Idaho will not be a favored vacation destination for clients of travel agents in Roanoke, Va., since nearby Virginia Tech lost their season opener in college football by a 33-30 margin against Boise State, in a game that was played on the Washington Redskins' home field in Maryland.

But, for those of you who are now Hokies alum (I went to nearby Radford University), you may want to check out The Idaho Potato Museum in the town of Blackfoot. Conversely, those of you visiting Virginia may want to check out another nifty roadside attraction in The Natural Bridge Zoo, which is near Lexington, Va. Interestingly enough, there is a Virginia Tech alumni chapter in Idaho!